Building up a sweat and checking out – five things you may not know about ice hockey

Shots on goal clock up to 160kph (100 mph)

There are many names for shots on goal in ice hockey, but the low down fact is the puck moves at a frightening pace.

Canadians do it better

Canadians have a natural edge in ice hockey, because everyone is encouraged to play. It is formally recognised as their official winter sport. Canada and five other countries (USA, Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland) tend to dominate the sport. Given the weather in these countries, is no coincidence.

Ice hockey players don’t zig and zag, they “deke” and “dangle”

Ice hockey players have fancy words for fake-out moves. Deke is short for decoy, and refers to moves with the body or the stick to confuse the defensemen as to which way the player is going. Dangling is the same thing, but applies more to the stick work.

The goalie’s gear weighs over 30kg (70 lbs)

Due to the weight of the pads the goalie must wear to avoid injury, they rarely leave the cage. They also sweat profusely and as a result must replace some of their gear more often than other players.No check please – the women play by slightly different rules

The women are not allowed to body check each other. They must also wear full facial protection. This leads to fewer injuries than the men experience. While fighting is normal and even encouraged on the men’s teams, fighting at a women’s ice hockey game is rare.